Bark berlin: Cruise Control Death Drive

Karla Marchesi employs the 17th-century Dutch still life painting genre as a powerful tool to provocatively probe the sociocultural concerns that permeate our modern society. It prompts us to deeply contemplate the essence of human existence within the frameworks of late capitalism and anthropocentrism.

Traditionally, bouquets portrayed flowers with painstaking naturalism, assembled in configurations that defy the laws of simultaneous blooming. These cultural representations were emblematic of an anthropocentric perspective that regarded nature as something to be tamed and set apart. However, Karla Marchesi disrupts this paradigm by painting scenes that are hyper-natural and post-humanist, reenvisioning entire ecosystems.

Replacing the constructs of humanity

Her works blend time, space, existing botanical species, and fantastical mutations within tumultuous landscapes, all influenced by the unsettling forces of “globally eerie” weather phenomena. Picture the convergence of desert and oceanic landscapes, the emergence of flora beneath water, in caves, and along tidal expanses, all overgrowing the remnants of a bygone anthropocentric world. In their place, new organic monuments rise, replacing the constructs of humanity.

With her artistry rooted in the rich tradition of 17th-century Dutch still life, Karla Marchesi’s work serves as a compelling lens through which we can examine the complex tapestry of contemporary societal anxieties.

BARK BERLIN GALLERY – Cruise Control Death Drive

Karla Marchesi

Sept 9th – Oct 6th